[Press] Gender self-determination: An absolute human rights priority

The Gender Recognition Act 2015 signified a breath of fresh air to Irish legislation, and a solace to the trans community in the Irish Republic. For trans people in Northern Ireland, it is still the same old story, with recourse to mental health professionals, waiting lists and a long-winded process to acquire a Gender Recognition Certificate according to existing UK legislation. In many countries in Western Europe, as this writer highlighted in a recent article, it used to be compulsory for trans people to undergo not only medical transition but obligatory, if not forced sterilisation to be recognised as trans, or to be assigned their actual gender. Such policies that involved an absolute infringement of fundamental rights were reversed only recently in many countries, including Scandinavia. However, apart from Ireland and Denmark, other EU member states continue to lag behind when it comes to securing the right for gender self-determination to their citizens.